Morningside College is ranked 19th in the nation in the NAIA Wrestling Coaches Pre-Season Poll released Oct. 23.

The Mustangs are coming off a 2012-2013 season where they posted an 11-4 dual record including a perfect 6-0 mark in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) to win their third consecutive GPAC championship.

The Mustangs have four wrestlers in the individual rankings, led by Tyler Kacmarynski, a senior from Spencer, who is fifth in the heavyweight division. Kacmarynski posted a 23-6 record with six falls last season and is a three-time NAIA National Qualifier.

Morningside’s other nationally ranked wrestlers are Garret Lambrecht, a junior from Wood River, Neb., who is 10th at 141 pounds; Nathan Ryan, a sophomore from Moville, who is 11th at 133 pounds; and Rulin Pederson. a junior from Sioux City, who is 13rh at 184 pounds.

Ryan led the Mustangs in victories last season when he had a 26-14 record with three falls while Lambrecht had an 18-9 record with a team-high nine falls.

Joe Sievert, a senior from Akron, returns for the Mustangs at 174 pounds.

John Sievert, who won a National Championship last season at 197 pounds, is an assistant coach this year with Head Coach Jake Stevenson. Both Sieverts are alumni of Akron-Westfield Community School.

Morningside will open the 2013-14 season with duals against NCAA Division I Air Force and NCAA Division II Augustana Nov. 15 in Sioux Falls, S.D.